Physiological Responses of Chickpea Genotypes to Cold and Heat Stress in Flowering Stage

Due to climate change, more temperature extremes are expected in the future, potentially endangering agricultural production. Chickpea (<i>Cicer arietinum</i> L.) is an important cool-season food legume grown worldwide; however, cold and heat episodes are major threats in chickpea produc...

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Main Authors: Mareen Zeitelhofer, Rong Zhou, Carl-Otto Ottosen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-11-01
Series:Agronomy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/11/2755
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author Mareen Zeitelhofer
Rong Zhou
Carl-Otto Ottosen
author_facet Mareen Zeitelhofer
Rong Zhou
Carl-Otto Ottosen
author_sort Mareen Zeitelhofer
collection DOAJ
description Due to climate change, more temperature extremes are expected in the future, potentially endangering agricultural production. Chickpea (<i>Cicer arietinum</i> L.) is an important cool-season food legume grown worldwide; however, cold and heat episodes are major threats in chickpea production that cause considerable yield losses especially at the flowering stage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological performance of contrasting chickpea genotypes during the flowering phase under cold and heat. Four chickpea genotypes (Desi, Eldorado, Acc#2 and Acc#7) with different temperature susceptibilities were treated for 3 days under cold (9/4 °C) and heat (38/33 °C). The results showed that cold stress reduced the maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (F<sub>v</sub>/F<sub>m</sub>) by 5%, net photosynthetic rate (P<sub>N</sub>) by 74%, and chlorophyll a+b content by 31% on average in all tested genotypes. Up to a 9-fold increase in the amount of starch was found in the leaves of plants under cold stress, indicating that carbohydrates strongly accumulated in chickpeas under cold stress. This helps to maintain the vegetative and generative organs and enable fast recovery. Under heat stress, chickpeas maintained F<sub>v</sub>/F<sub>m</sub> and P<sub>N</sub>, although chlorophyll a+b content decreased by 39% on average. Carbohydrates did not accumulate under heat in chickpeas; thereby, a reduction in biomass and reproductive organs took place. Genetic variation in response to cold and heat stress was detected among the tested flowering chickpea genotypes. Desi and Acc#2 were cold-sensitive candidates, and Eldorado was a cold-tolerant candidate, whereas Acc#7 and Acc#2 were heat-sensitive candidates, while Desi and Eldorado were heat-tolerant candidates. This study provides important knowledge on the physiological response of flowering chickpeas under cold and heat stress. This will benefit the identification of stress-tolerant chickpea genotypes to ensure high yields in the future climate.
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spelling doaj.art-056c76e38aff45d9bf430ed45e817ca32023-11-24T03:21:47ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952022-11-011211275510.3390/agronomy12112755Physiological Responses of Chickpea Genotypes to Cold and Heat Stress in Flowering StageMareen Zeitelhofer0Rong Zhou1Carl-Otto Ottosen2Department of Food Science, Aarhus University, 8200 Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Food Science, Aarhus University, 8200 Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Food Science, Aarhus University, 8200 Aarhus, DenmarkDue to climate change, more temperature extremes are expected in the future, potentially endangering agricultural production. Chickpea (<i>Cicer arietinum</i> L.) is an important cool-season food legume grown worldwide; however, cold and heat episodes are major threats in chickpea production that cause considerable yield losses especially at the flowering stage. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological performance of contrasting chickpea genotypes during the flowering phase under cold and heat. Four chickpea genotypes (Desi, Eldorado, Acc#2 and Acc#7) with different temperature susceptibilities were treated for 3 days under cold (9/4 °C) and heat (38/33 °C). The results showed that cold stress reduced the maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (F<sub>v</sub>/F<sub>m</sub>) by 5%, net photosynthetic rate (P<sub>N</sub>) by 74%, and chlorophyll a+b content by 31% on average in all tested genotypes. Up to a 9-fold increase in the amount of starch was found in the leaves of plants under cold stress, indicating that carbohydrates strongly accumulated in chickpeas under cold stress. This helps to maintain the vegetative and generative organs and enable fast recovery. Under heat stress, chickpeas maintained F<sub>v</sub>/F<sub>m</sub> and P<sub>N</sub>, although chlorophyll a+b content decreased by 39% on average. Carbohydrates did not accumulate under heat in chickpeas; thereby, a reduction in biomass and reproductive organs took place. Genetic variation in response to cold and heat stress was detected among the tested flowering chickpea genotypes. Desi and Acc#2 were cold-sensitive candidates, and Eldorado was a cold-tolerant candidate, whereas Acc#7 and Acc#2 were heat-sensitive candidates, while Desi and Eldorado were heat-tolerant candidates. This study provides important knowledge on the physiological response of flowering chickpeas under cold and heat stress. This will benefit the identification of stress-tolerant chickpea genotypes to ensure high yields in the future climate.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/11/2755chickpeacold stressheat stressflowering stageplant physiology
spellingShingle Mareen Zeitelhofer
Rong Zhou
Carl-Otto Ottosen
Physiological Responses of Chickpea Genotypes to Cold and Heat Stress in Flowering Stage
Agronomy
chickpea
cold stress
heat stress
flowering stage
plant physiology
title Physiological Responses of Chickpea Genotypes to Cold and Heat Stress in Flowering Stage
title_full Physiological Responses of Chickpea Genotypes to Cold and Heat Stress in Flowering Stage
title_fullStr Physiological Responses of Chickpea Genotypes to Cold and Heat Stress in Flowering Stage
title_full_unstemmed Physiological Responses of Chickpea Genotypes to Cold and Heat Stress in Flowering Stage
title_short Physiological Responses of Chickpea Genotypes to Cold and Heat Stress in Flowering Stage
title_sort physiological responses of chickpea genotypes to cold and heat stress in flowering stage
topic chickpea
cold stress
heat stress
flowering stage
plant physiology
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/11/2755
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